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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · stick · leaves · field · kid · game · kick · trunk

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. game — a match
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rest — a break
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kick — in football
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. kid — to tease
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rest — what's left
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. game — wild animals
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com